Twitter will begin flagging tweets from public officials that violate the social media platform’s rules as the social media giant attempts to be more transparent about its terms of service.
Twitter announced the new policy on Thursday in a blog post. Twitter’s post does not mention President Trump by name, but others in tech and related industries immediately connected it with him.
“Twitter doesn’t call out Trump by name, but this is clearly a new Trump rule — labeling tweets that violate rules,” CNBC tech editor Steve Kovach tweeted.
“This policy change could face its most prominent test in President Trump, who has repeatedly tested Twitter’s community standards,” CNN Business tweeted.
A disconnect between Twitter’s stated rules and how it chooses to enforce those rules on the platform has confused many users and led to accusations of bias and favoritism, the company said. Effective Thursday, the company will flag and limit the reach of tweets that violate the platform’s policies but that Twitter executives have decided to leave up as a matter of public interest.
“We’ll place a notice – a screen you have to click or tap through before you see the Tweet – to provide additional context and clarity,” the blog post says. “We’ll also take steps to make sure the Tweet is not algorithmically elevated on our service, to strike the right balance between enabling free expression, fostering accountability, and reducing the potential harm caused by these Tweets.”
The new policy will apply to government officials, people running for public office, and those being considered for a public position. The user must be verified with more than 100,000 followers.
Flagged tweets will be restricted in reach and will not appear in a variety of search and interactive functions of the platform, such as in a safe search or in a recommended tweet notification.
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